The video was thorough. It was the early nineties, and the Belgian educational approach was pragmatic. There were no euphemisms. The video used diagrams—clinical, cross-section illustrations of anatomy—to explain the changes happening inside the body.

In recent years, there have been efforts to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to sexual education. For example, in 2018, the French-speaking region introduced a new curriculum for sexual education, which includes topics such as consent, healthy relationships, and digital citizenship. However, there have been concerns about the implementation of this curriculum, particularly in schools with limited resources.

First came the boys. A cartoon diagram showed the path of "sperm cells." The narrator explained "wet dreams" with the gravity of a news anchor reporting on a royal wedding. "It is perfectly normal," the narrator intoned, "and nothing to be ashamed of."

One afternoon, while reaching for the same bag of chips, their hands brushed. Usually, this wouldn't matter, but this time, felt a jolt of electricity, and quickly looked away, her face flushing. They were experiencing a classic part of puberty: hormonal shifts

Give a teenager the tools to decode a romantic storyline, and you give them the power to reject the bad ones and recognize the good one when it finally walks into the room. That is the real education. That is how we raise a generation that doesn't just survive puberty—but narrates it with courage, clarity, and self-respect.